I know ... another cake question..and I understand the cake construction...but what about the beads? How would I do those and make sure the stayed stuck together and how would I make the belt that goes around the top? Any help would be appreciated! 
Also the denim look? How do I acheive this?
I would think that you could string some luster dusted fondant "beads" onto florist wire to recreate the handle. Other than that, I'm no help, sorry!
An airbrush would help you ALOT with this project....you could make a light to medium blue fondant and then airbrush it with a navy blue to give it a denim effect. Sponge painting would do a nice effect as well actually.
Maybe get a small textured roller to do the pockets and seams.
And yeah for the beaded handles, I'd probably make fondant beads.... luster or paint them...let them partially dry, and then gently string them on wire (with plenty of extra wire left to stick into cake) and let them dry completely.
This looks like a fun cake!
Oh yeah the belt...yikes that looks kind of hard. I guess what I would try first is cutting out small squares of white and blue fondant (smaller than you need) and then putting them together to make the "scarf".... then quickly make some letters, either thin cutouts or thin snake letters and then roll the entire thing flat. Then gather the pieces and make little "swags" between belt loops and then the front may or may not have to be made ahead to dry, not sure. That part might take some experimentation.
how about painting the blue on instead of using bits and pieces of blue and white? I just made a clapboard for a cake on Sunday and couldnt for the life of me think how I'd piece black and white together and the writing on top so I just painted white MMF black where I needed to. (With colour paste)
Ok all I have my fondant templates drawn out but for the life of me I cant figure out how you all make the fondant "ribbons or fabric" look ruffled and stay that way..and also how would I attach the knot of the ribbon to the belt??? I am thinking of painting oceanspitfire
This may be a really silly question (so feel free to chuckle), but can a person who is allergic to nuts have a cake that includes almond extract? I was thinking of making WASC for a baby shower cake, but I don't know if anyone there is allergic to nuts! TIA!!! Lisa 
what about using marshmallows for the belt. Couldn't you paint the marshamallows after they have hardend (got stale) and cut them or even shape them to what you want? You could string them on wire to stand up and since the mm aren't heavy it wouldn' or shouldn't fall down if the wire is sturdy enough. You could make the belt out of gumpaste and paint the blue on. Not sure about the denim look....good luck...
Here's my take on your idea.
I'd use as much fondant and fondant/gumpaste as you can throughout the cake.
First I'd find an old pair of jeans(clean of course) and actually take them apart. Don't take them all the way apart, just detach the front from the back and remove the pockets. Leave the belt loops too. Those will be easy to make from fondant anyways. Cut the jeans legs off to where you think you will be able to tuck it under on your cake. I'd say just below the crotch should be fine. Like a pair of shorts.
Your going to want to use Cornflower blue and a smidge of grey to get the right denim color in your fondant. Once it's mixed and rolled out, then press the jeans, back and front and then the pockets, all into the fondant, separately and cut out. If you want more details to show then I'd lightly dust it while still laying flat with a slightly darker and a slightly lighter blue dust and then brush or blow the excess off again. On the pockets, I'd make sure to press more on the outsides where the seams show, so you can make is more showy later with the dusts.
For the scarf...you could use an actual scarf, or....you could photograph the one in your pic, in sections and take it to your local Albertsons or other bakery that does edible icing, and have them make you prints. Then just lay it on white fondant made into the scarf shape. Then after you've draped it onto the cake make the belt loops, textured using the pockets seams, and arrange them around the cake tucking them under the scarf, making it look like a real belt.
For the beads, you can indeed make them out of gumpaste and floral wire, or you could use real ones. Real ones may weigh less. With all the dusts out there, the possiblities are endless so you really have alot of choices. If your worried about them staying up and together. Make them close together and "attach" them with a bit of RI to the wire and to each other. And any RI that is showing can be dusted to look like metal or another bead.
Oh and one more thing...if you're only doing it for your portfolio, you could go ahead and use a couple of styrofom rectangles instead of baking a cake and wasting ingredients.
Just some ideas from me to you.......
Have fun with this and don't forget to post your pics for us here when you're done!
Good luck!!
Lisa 
Lisacakes- if you use artificial almond extract (which is what you usually get in the grocery store and is what I always use), there isn't actually any real almonds in it - it is all artificial and is fine for people with nut allergies. I don't know about the "real" extracts, they might be different. Check the ingredients on the bottle just to be sure.
thank you all for the replies!!! I love the marshmallow as the beads. I am not sure yet what I am going to do, haven't made up my mind. No big rush, this isn't for sale of course. Just thought it was a cute purse and I haven't seen a blue jean purse on yet. Thanks mccakegal for the tip about wadding the tissue paper up!!
I would use 18 gauge stainless steel wire, rather than florist's wire - available in the floral department at Wal-Mart very inexpensively. It is cut in 18 inch lengths.
My reason is that florist's wire is either fabric coated or painted. If the beads are not quite dry on the inside, and someone tries to eat them, they could eat lint or paint chips when they pull the bead off.
You never know, but why risk it?
Also, florist's wire is usually thinner in gauge than the wire I am recommending, and may not be able to hold the weight of those beads. They look rather heavy to me.
Theresa
Thanks Dolfin....I love this type caking....out of the ordinary is my love.
I need to start doing more of the ideas that I post!! Most of them I've done in one way or another, but it always fun to create something new!
I've got a basic cake decorating demo coming up May 16th, for a youth group of girls that own DD's are part of, I just might make up this little purse as an example of what you can learn to do....and show off just a little!! LOL
I'll be sure and post my results if I decide to do that, and I will make sure that I get pics of the demo and post them in the lounge so everyone can see that too!
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